Intelligent call routing: What is it and how does it work?

Traditional call routing has long been a cornerstone of customer service. It ensures calls are answered in the order they are received, improves productivity, and streamlines issue resolution.

However, traditional routing can leave customers waiting in long queues, sometimes getting transferred multiple times before reaching someone who can truly help.

Intelligent call routing is a smarter, more refined approach to the customer journey. Instead of simply connecting customers to the next available agent, intelligent call routing uses advanced technology to direct callers to the best-suited agent based on their needs, language preferences, and even historical data. It’s an evolution that promises to enhance customer experience and agent productivity.

What is intelligent call routing?

Intelligent call routing is a call center technology that organizes incoming calls into a queue and matches them to the right agent or team. It uses predefined rules to decide how to route each call.

Its ability to tap into existing and real-time data makes intelligent call routing even more powerful. Before making a decision, the system can factor in elements like the customer’s past interactions or location, current queue size, or how long an agent has been idle.

How does intelligent call routing work?

To understand how intelligent call routing operates, consider a typical customer service scenario. Imagine a customer calling for help troubleshooting a specific product—say, a smart home device that isn’t connecting to their Wi-Fi. In a traditional system, this call might be routed to any available agent, whether or not they specialize in technical issues.

With intelligent call routing, the system identifies the nature of the inquiry and directs the call to an agent with expertise in smart home devices. As a result, the satisfied customer gets their issue resolved faster.

Here’s a step-by-step look at how intelligent call routing works:

1. Call identification and data gathering.

The moment the customer’s call comes in, the system starts gathering essential information. It can access the customer’s account details, past interactions, and even data from the IVR (interactive voice response) system if the customer provides information like their reason for calling. For instance, the customer might select “troubleshooting” as their reason or their call history might show they’ve previously contacted the company about a similar issue.

2. Matching the call.

Based on the information gathered, the system then evaluates the predefined routing rules. These rules could include factors like the skills or context required to solve the problem, or the urgency of the issue. In this case, the system would recognize that the customer needs technical support for a smart home device.

3. Agent selection and routing.

Once the system has evaluated all the factors, it routes the call to a selected agent, providing them with all relevant customer details. The agent is already equipped with the context they need to start solving the issue right away, with a personalized touch.

What are the benefits of intelligent call routing?

Intelligent call routing can make a big difference in the critical KPIs that contact centers care about:

• Customer satisfaction (CSAT). When customers are connected to agents who know how to solve their problem, they leave the call feeling more satisfied.

• First contact resolution rate (FCR). This metric measures a company’s ability to resolve customer issues during the first interaction.

• Average handle time. Contact centers use AHT to understand how long it takes to handle a customer interaction from start to finish.

• Resolution rate. More calls are resolved successfully since customers are paired with agents who have the skills to handle their concerns.

• Customer lifetime value (CLV). Higher satisfaction from quicker resolutions leads to longer, more profitable customer relationships.

• Average wait time. Calls spend less time in the queue, so customers get answers faster.

• Average abandonment rate. This metric tracks the percentage of inbound calls that end before reaching an agent or achieving the desired outcome.

• Occupancy rate. Agents spend more time helping customers and less time idle, boosting the efficiency of the contact center.

• Customer service level (CSL). With faster response times and higher resolution rates, contact centers meet service level agreements more consistently.

Intelligent call routing improves contact center efficiency and builds the foundation for a better overall customer experience.

Intelligent call routing best practices.

A few best practices can help ensure that intelligent call routing runs smoothly and delivers the best results possible for both customers and agents.

• Leverage analytics for deeper insights. By regularly reviewing contact center analytics, companies can keep a close eye on key metrics like average handle time and first contact resolution. This provides a clearer picture of customer satisfaction and helps identify areas for improvement.

• Assess agent strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to regularly assess each agent’s strengths and weaknesses so the system can route calls to the person best equipped to handle the issue.

• Use the right technology. Leveraging an advanced customer journey orchestration platform ensures smart, data-driven routing, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Put AI-powered call routing to work.

Traditional call routing has long been a staple of contact centers, helping calls get directed to an agent. However, there is little to no consideration for a customer’s specific needs or an agent’s expertise. Intelligent call routing elevates this process by using smarter, more adaptive capabilities to connect customers with the agents best suited to address their concerns.

For businesses looking to stay competitive and provide exceptional customer experiences, it’s time to adopt a solution like Talkdesk Navigator™. This advanced tool optimizes agent assignments, personalizes customer interactions, and adapts to evolving business needs—creating a more efficient and customer-centric contact center.

Explore how AI-powered routing can work for you. Schedule a Talkdesk demo today and see the difference intelligent call routing can make.